A Petition in Defence of Andreas Georgiou

"As head of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) from 2010 to 2015, Andreas Georgiou is widely credited with producing the first round of reliable financial statistics in accordance with EU standards. Indeed, statistics produced under his leadership were accepted and published by Eurostat without reservation for five consecutive years. Yet, he and two of his ELSTAT colleagues have faced numerous legal proceedings for their ELSTAT work. Despite numerous professional and oversight entities expressing concern to the Greek government and calling for a halt, the legal proceedings against them continue.

Georgiou's data showed the Greek deficit and debt to be larger than previous figures for the years up to and including 2009, which had been provided by the Greek government. The previous figures persistently misreported economic data in the years leading up to the Greek and European debt crises and are considered by European Union and international institutions to have contributed to the emergence of the economic hard times. Because of the austerity measures being experienced by the Greek people, Georgiou and his colleagues have been scapegoated in a classic case of shooting the messenger."